Photo: X (Twitter)
The six-time World Cup-playing Australian Football team arrived in Dhaka on Tuesday at noon to play their Group I away match of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup against hosts Bangladesh on Thursday. The match will kick off at 4:45 pm at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in the capital.
The Australian team, which was eliminated from the second round of the last FIFA World Cup held in Qatar in 2022 by losing 2-1 to Argentina, reached Hazrat Shah Jalal International Airport in Dhaka at 12:15 pm via Thailand and will return home Thursday evening soon after playing the match.
Also they will have a practice session today at 5:30 pm at the match venue after a rest day on Tuesday. Bangladesh will play war-torn Arabian nation Lebanon in their last Group I away match on 11 June at a neutral venue: Al Saad Club Stadium in Doha, Qatar. The match will kick off at 10 pm (Bangladesh time).
Australia outplayed Bangladesh 7-0 in their home match of the ongoing qualifying meet in Australia in November last year. The Kangaroos also played Bangladesh twice in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in 2015 winning 4-0 and 5-0 respectively.
On completion of four Group I matches, Australia dominate the table with an all-win record securing full 12 points while war-torn Palestine are a distant second collecting seven points with two wins one draw and one defeat.
Lebanon are in the third slot securing two points with two draws and two defeats while Bangladesh remain at the bottom with one point from four matches after getting a 1-1 draw against Lebanon in their home match at Dhaka.
Messenger/Hasan
